Kidnapped
by Kage no Koji
Summary: After a simple patrol gone wrong, Ronin has been kidnapped and critically by a strange new foe. Can MK and Nod save him with the fast approaching Dark Moon and Winter Solstice, or will he be the sacrifice for a new era of darkness? M for dark themes and severe violence/gore


_**Me: **_**I saw Epic and I did write a short, but I wanted to try a longer story with a very serious theme. I've found myself in a very serious mood lately. XD Which is odd in and of itself. **

_**Disclaimers: **_**Epic belongs to it's creators and blah blah blah. A few characters later on do belong to me.**

_**Warnings: **_**VIolence, languge, gore, and heavily serious themes. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!**

In the calm woods surrounding Moonhaven, winter had taken its claim. It came in early November, falling in thick sticky puffs of white that gradually built up to cover the once vibrantly colored landscape. The woods had been transformed into a canvas of clean, crisp white, unmarred by the broken trees or dead plants by mid December. It was a beautiful thing to admire, especially from the comfort of a warm house. The children loved to play in the snow, running around, throwing snowballs, and making snowmen. Couples and some families would take to the frozen pond, skating around on the slippery ice with not a care in the world.  
Nod however, hated the snow.  
He hated how cold it was, how it soaked through his clothes to freeze his skin, how the wind would bite at his exposed face when he was flying. He preferred the summer in every way.  
It had been months since Mandrake's fall. The Boggans, though not completely driven away, had lost all organizational skill. If they attacked, it was in weak numbers and with little advantage. They would simply come from nowhere, ignoring possible cover and their own lives as they threw themselves at the Leafmen patrols. The Boggans were just stupid and easy enough to dispatch without an organized leader. At this point, they were just annoying.  
Nod was standing in the almost castle like structure that stood proudly at the center of Moonhaven, pacing beside his bird to keep warm as he rubbed his hands together. Four other Leafmen stood in a group just beside him, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. They were a bunch of greenhorns, newbies, that had decided being a Leafman was for them.  
_~Geez, Ronin, hurry up! It's too cold to be standing around!~ _Nod thought, an annoyed expression crossing his face. Ronin had insisted that Nod cone with him on his patrol, so Nod could see what being patrol leader was like. Ronin was hoping he could make Nod into one so he could take a patrol by himself. It was a long shot at best, but well worth a try.  
Just as Nod was about to sneak off to go find a camera to speak with MK, Ronin came marching around the corner. He looked as strict as always, but something in the way he eased his frown made Nod think he'd loosened up a bit. Ronin had a thick brown cloak wrapped around his shoulders, which trailed behind him as he swiftly strode up to his waiting patrol.  
"I've seen trees move faster than you, old man!" Nod exclaimed, earning him a well deserved glare from the older Leafman. But, instead of rocketing into a lecture about respect and toeing the line, Ronin only rolled his eyes in an exasperated manner and threw a cloak at Nod. He of course had been the one to forget his for patrol.  
"At least I don't run into them when my bird decides to take off." He replied in a cool tone, causing the rookies to snicker behind their hands. Nod shot them a glare, remembering the incident all too well from a few weeks back. That was the last time he dared to take an unbroken bird for a race.  
It took a good fifteen minutes for the rookies to get themselves together to even start the patrol. Two of them had to redo their saddles several times, one couldn't even get on the bird because it kept hopping around and chirping in a peeved manner, and the last one was missing half his gear.  
But once in the air, any problems seemed to just fade away as they zoomed over Moonhaven. Nod could see children below, running and screaming in joy as they chase each other and threw snowballs at each other. It was a fanciful sight to behold.  
"Now listen up, because I'm only going to say his once. This patrol is an exercise to show you rookies how a Leafman conducts himself during patrols. We're going to fly over some of the major parts of Moonhaven, and landmarks in our territory that you need to know and familiarize yourself with. It's essential to know your way around the forest and how to get to certain areas the fastest. Is that understood?" Ronin called. The four rookies made hasty salutes, nodding their heads reverently as they tried to control their birds. It seemed the cold had made the birds a little frisky this year.  
Nod grinned and made a cheeky salute to Ronin, who looked unimpressed. Nod zoomed up right beside Ronin, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, lighten up old man! Have some fun every once in a while!" Nod said, clapping a hand on Ronin's shoulder. The older Leafman shook his head, but a small smile played at the edges of his lips.  
Most of the patrol went by without a hiccup. The biggest problem so far would have been that two birds seemed to have a rivalry and were trying to peck each other, nearly dislodging their riders in the process.  
Nod was hunched over on his bird, trying to stay low and out of the wind. The air had become crisp and chill, sharp like knives against his cold skin. His hands were growing numb, stiff beneath his winter gloves. A roar echoed through the forest, followed by an angry gale of wind and snow that threw the patrol temporarily off course. It was like thunder in Nod's ears, deafening him and cutting off from everyone else. His bird lurched beneath him, wings straining to stay upright in the gale. The whirling snow, made it impossible to see. A sudden silence befell the patrol, a deadly absence of sound that filled Nod with dread. It was a prelude to something... Terrible.  
"Be on guard! Watch ou-" Nod's warning was lost to the wind as a gale of frosty snow and ice pummeled his body, sending his bird careening through the sky like a trapeze artist. Nod yelled out, trying to regain control of his bird in a frantic frenzy of shouts and tugs on the reins. The world flashed by in a kaleidoscope of color and sound, up and down no longer a certainty. It whipped him around and tossed him like a rag doll, a mere plaything for the cruel nature of weather.  
_~We've gotta get out of this whirlwind!~ _Nod thought desperately, trying to find his sense of direction.  
For one brilliant moment, everything became crystal clear. It was as if time had stopped, frozen between milliseconds.  
That was when Nod saw Ronin. His heart clenched as a shout built up in his throat, arm slowly snapping out as if to catch the older Leafman.  
Ronin was falling, separated from his bird. His face was struck with surprise, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. A spear had found it's way to Ronin, a vicious looking weapon made of ice and snow. It had impaled him right through his chest, blood dripping down hit's wicked tip.  
"RONIN!" Nod screamed, just as Ronin was lost in the flurry of unforgiving snow. Nod crashed into a pile of cold snow, lucky that his fall had been broken by the soft powdery stuff. With a squeak, his bird was whisked away in to the depths of the forest. Nod lay stunned, his body paralyzed with sheer shock. His body was numb, refusing to move as the snow sunk through his armor and clothing, freezing his skin.  
"Ronin..." He croaked, willing his body to move even as it protested loudly. His head was spinning, vision blurry. He was sure he must have cracked his head against some hidden rock or root, if the blood dripping from under his helmet wasn't a dead give away. He clawed his way to the top of the mini cavern his falling body had made, cursing when the walls gave out from underneath him, sending him tumbling back down into the pit.  
When Nod finally reached the top of the snow drift, he was met with a field of carnage and massacre. The rookies lay dead upon the snow, pierced with the same spears that had taken Ronin. Blood pooled in the snow, a pink halo of death surrounding their bodies. Eyes stared ahead, surprise still masking their youthful faces. Mouth open to shout, fingers curled around the weapons that did nothing to help them. Their birds were no better, eyes glazed over with a dreadful nothingness. Wings were bent at painful angles, feathers ruffled by the slight breeze left in the wake of the gale. Nod's numb body shuffled forward, too frozen to react. Nod crouched by the rookies, closing their eyelids and mouths as a final respect. At least they didn't look in pain this way.  
Nod grew panicked as he looked around. He could 't find Ronin's body!  
"Ronin! Ronin! RONIN!" Nod screamed, his body shaking. Already his fingers were starting to turn a disconcerting shade of blue, the starting signs of hypothermia.  
"Ronin!" Nod screamed one last time as his body collapsed, refusing to take him a step farther. Trembling fingers rose to meet his blue tinted lips, a weak whistle permeating the air. His bird didn't come, nor any savior that could possibly shield Nod from the biting cold of the snow he was laying in.  
_~MK...I need your help...MK~ _he thought as the world began to spin out of existence, replaced by the ever growing number of black spots invading his vision. With a final sigh, he let his body succumb to the deadly cold of December, too battered to fend off his impeding death for even just a few minutes longer.  
"MK..." He whispered one last time as the ground began to shake beneath him. He smiled as he immersed himself in darkness, warmth cocooning itself around his body. He thought he heard MK's voice, distant and far away.  
"Nod!"

Me: So, what did you guys think? I like hearing your reviews! Please tell me what you think!

Flames will be used to heat Hell and Axel. W


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